ABANDONED: Answers

"Who are you?" Charlie demanded. "What am I doing here?" "Oh, Charlie," the strange man said calmly, with a small grin. "You were doing so well." "What are you talking about?" "Well, the experiment, of course." "You mean all of that was *fake*?" "Oh no. All of it is quite real." "What's going on?" The man grinned, then said "We have chosen you, Charlie. So far, you have been a splendid specimen." "I'm no one's specimen." "Oh, but you are. You are *our* specimen. The experiment has been going well. Trust me, I know. I've been watching your progress." "My progress? You're acting like this is a game." He smiled. "I suppose in a way, it is." "Well, this *isn't* a game. You said those people are real. Who are you to mess with their lives like that?" For the first time, the strange man looked confused. "We are more evolved. *That* gives us the right." Then a smile crept back into his face. "Do you like the indicators?" "Indicators?" "Yes, the colors. Oh, my favorite is the brown. But I am also partial to the red. The results are always so delicious." "Brown? What does *that* do?" "Oh, it gives you the attributes of animals. Quite interesting, actually." Charlie had had it with this guy's laid-back attitude towards the people of that city. "Enough. Send me home. I don't want to be a part of this." "Oh, but you *were* home. That was *your* world. And we will send you back, but not as you are. Charlie, the experiment *must* continue." "No! I'm not playing your games!" Charlie shouted. "You have no choice," the man said, as he approached him. Charlie moved as far back as possible, but it was a small room. There wasn't much space to maneuver in. He was backed into a corner, and that's where the strange man touched him. A cloud of blue dust spun around him and he was gone.